1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to still cameras.
More particularly, the invention relates to a motorized still camera.
2. The Prior Art
Motorized still cameras are known in the camera art. They may use roll film or film which is contained in film cassettes, e.g. the type of cassette which is known world-wide under the "Type 110"designation.
Still cameras having motor-driven film transport mechanism have many advantages over those wherein film transport, setting of the shutter and/or operation of a flash unit are carried out manually. However, the inclusion of a motor, an energy source for the same and the various motion-transmitting components makes the dimensions of such cameras of necessity relatively large, a disadvantage which at least to a significant extent counteracts the advantages obtained by inclusion of the motor drive.
This is particularly noticeable in the case of still cameras using film cassettes, a type of camera often referred-to as a "pocket camera". One of the particular advantages of such cassettes has been that they permitted the development of cameras small enough to be conveniently carried on the person of a user, often in a pocket (hence the name "pocket camera"). Evidently, any enlargement of the overall size of such cameras, resulting from the inclusion of a motor drive, is highly undesirable since it will defeat the original purpose, the concept of miniaturizing the camera to the point where it can be conveniently carried about on the person of a user. Yet, in the miniature (e.g. 110-type) cameras which have heretofore been motorized, this is exactly what has happened.